How to Check Your Wi-Fi Speed

A speed test takes about thirty seconds and tells you whether slow internet is your Wi-Fi, your plan, or something else. Run it close to the router first, then where you actually use the internet, and compare the two.

Run the test

Open the RunTimeIndex internet speed test.
Close downloads, video streams, and cloud backups on every device first, since they eat bandwidth during the test.
Stand near the router for the first run, then select Start and wait for it to finish.
Run it two or three times and take the middle result. A single run can be thrown off by a busy moment.
Repeat the test from the room where the connection feels slow, and compare the numbers.

What the numbers mean

Download speed (Mbps): how fast data reaches you. This is the number that decides streaming and downloads.
Upload speed (Mbps): how fast you send data. It matters for video calls and cloud backups.
Ping, or latency (ms): how long a reply takes. Under 50 ms is good for calls and gaming. Over 100 ms feels laggy.
Jitter: how much the ping varies from moment to moment. Low and steady is better than fast but jumpy.

What speed do you need?

Browsing and email: 5 to 10 Mbps down.
HD video streaming: about 5 Mbps per stream. 4K needs about 25 Mbps per stream.
Video calls: about 5 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up.
Online gaming: about 25 Mbps down, but low ping matters more than raw speed.

If the number is much lower than your plan

Restart the router: unplug it for 30 seconds, then plug it back in and wait two minutes.
Test with a cable if you can. If wired is fast and Wi-Fi is slow, the problem is the wireless signal, not the plan.
Move closer to the router, or move the router out from behind furniture and off the floor.
Check whether another device is uploading, such as a cloud backup or a game update.

Common questions

What is a good Wi-Fi speed? It depends on use. Around 100 Mbps down covers most households, including several video streams at once. What matters more is that the speed holds up in the rooms where you actually use it.

Why is my speed lower than the plan I pay for? Wi-Fi always loses some speed to distance, walls, interference, and other devices sharing the connection. If a wired test is close to the plan speed but Wi-Fi is far below it, the wireless signal is the problem, not the plan.

Does a speed test use a lot of data? A single test uses roughly 50 to 100 MB. On a capped mobile connection, that adds up, so run fewer tests or test over Wi-Fi instead.

Related guides

Internet Speed Test

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